Sure, there are Barbies and GI Joes, Teddy Ruxpins and Cabbage Patch Kids. Big Wheels and those electronic pets that’ll brick if you don’t press the “feed button.” But I think we all know what the undisputed king of all toys is … CRAYONS. Crayola Crayons have been around almost since the invention of paraffin and have stood the test of time. And with them, kids have been whiling away the days getting creative since time immortal. Okay, well, at least since 1903 when Binney & Smith introduced the first eight colors. Then, before you know it, there was 64. Then 96. Then 128. Imagine the power that a kid can wield creatively with 128 colors at their command! Some have been discontinued, some retired. But always 64 or 128 as the current counts. So, when Crayola announced eight new colors to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the 64 count box, one has to stand back and say STOP THE COLORING BOOKS!
The new colors came from, what else … the imaginations of 20,000 kids who voted on what as in, what was out for 2008. In a new special edition collection, kids will see such shades as (Awesome [red], Giving Tree [lime green], Famous [purplish-pink], Fun in the Sun [red-orange], Best Friends [light purple[, Super Happy [yellow], Happily Ever After [blue-green] and Bear Hug [brown]. The new shades will be in specially marked boxes of 64ct. Crayons, new 64ct. Colored Pencils, and new 64ct. Markers.
Crayola’s 64 count box made its debut in 1958 on “Captain Kangaroo.” In the last 5 decades, more than 200 million Crayola 64 boxes, holding 12.8 billion crayons, have been sold. That’s enough to stretch to the moon and back nearly 2 ½ times! That’s a lot of burnt umber.
Mother’s, protect those walls!
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